Daily Wildcat Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

The editor of the University of Arizona student newspaper has issued an apology and fired the cartoonist following backlash over a homophobic comic strip published Tuesday in the Daily Wildcat.

Created by student D.C. Parsons, the comic (above) depicts a father explaining to his young son, “If you ever tell me you’re gay … I will shoot you with my shotgun, roll you up in a carpet and throw you off a bridge.” The boy replies, “Well, I guess that’s what you call a ‘Fruit Roll Up,'” and the two share a hearty laugh.

The strip drew immediate condemnation both on campus and off, with a petition on Change.org demanding the firing of the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, cartoonist and copy editor attracting more than 4,600 signatures.